Progress
by moot3100
Summary: Life in the army is tough. The rations are low, and peoples' will to live is even lower. Eventually, Gilbert can't stand it anymore. He flees his unit, in search of food. He intended to come across new people, but none as amazing as Grace, a poor Franch girl no older than 8. Will Gilbert go out of his way to help her? Papa!Gilbert x Child!OC. Please R&R !
1. Chapter 1

Gilbert stood in the rain, clutching his stomach in pain. It seemed to him that the raging war behind him would reach no end. The rations had long since diminished, and soldiers were becoming desperate for food. In a last attempt of scrounging up a meal, Gilbert fled: he was officially a deserter.

_Deserter._ In the past, the soldier had only thought of that word in contempt, pronouncing it as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. Back then, he never would've thought he'd become the definition of it.

Running a hand through his drenched hair, Gilbert groaned. "This is extremely un-awesome." He proclaimed. If he had just a little bit of food, he might have enough strength to reach the nearest town- wherever he was.

As if reading his mind, a sweet aroma reached his nose. _There's food around here. I must be getting closer, _Gilbert thought. Sure enough, there was a small, seemingly abandoned house on the hill.

Gilbert crept through many bushes and thickets, all too aware that someone would turn him in for a large enough reward. Sitting temptingly on the sill of a seemingly abandoned house, there lay a large apple pie.

Hesitantly, Gilbert reached out toward the pastry. _First I bailed on people that needed me, and now I become a criminal? _Eyes darting from side to side, he swiped the delicious snack, making off with it into the dense forest behind him.

When he felt he was a safe distance from the small, shack-like house, he dug into the pie, using his hands to sloppily shove the sweet goodness down his throat. Sure, it wasn't exactly beer and wurst, but food was food.

For a small moment, he almost felt bad about not sharing his prize with his unit. He quickly discarded the idea, licking some of the filling off his gloved fingers. _They're miles away, Gil. Don't start regretting things now…_

Before he had time to fully devour his meal, he heard a creak behind him. Whipping his neck around quickly, Gilbert saw the thing/person that had made yet another rustling noise. His first instinct was to reach for his rifle, which, of course, was a long ways away.

Silently cursing himself, he set the pie down, preparing himself to run like crazy if there was something waiting to get him.

"Show yourself!" Gilbert bellowed, scanning the surrounding area. Instead of receiving a severe blow to the head like he expected, he heard a small whimpering sound.

Parting the some of the foliage, Gilbert saw a little girl with eyes as wide as saucers, her tear-stained face quickly being replaced with fresh tears at the sight of the large man.

It looked to Gilbert that the poor girl had been outdoors for days: her clothes were caked with muck and grime, her hair was ridden with twigs, and her face was drained of color. Gilbert cringed. He knew all too well the affects of war, but this was extreme.

When she saw the German man towering over her, she immediately hit the dirt, sputtering a string of words the soldier couldn't understand. It seemed that the little girl was French, seeing as Gilbert recognized the dialect. _Seriously, where the heck am I…?_

His eyes softened when he noticed how shaken she was. "Calm down, frau…I'm not going to hurt you." He spoke gently and slowly, guessing she wouldn't understand him.

She seemed a little more at ease around the Prussian, but she kept her defensive stance on the ground: head in between her legs, knees hugged to her chest.

Realizing how condescending he must look from her level, Gilbert sat just a few feet away from her, gradually scooting closer as not to spook the girl.

"So vittle one…I guess I'll have to stop calling you vat soon… Vat's your name?" The girl gazed up at him through blurry eyes, confused. Gilbert repeated himself, adding emphasis on certain words and moving his hands about. To the girl, he looked like a complete fool.

Gilbert sat, waiting for a reply. Eventually, he sighed. _This is going nowhere fast…_

"Grace"

Gilbert looked up from the ground, not quite catching watch she said in her small voice. She took a deep breath and tried again. "M-Mon nom… est Grace..." She gestured to herself.

Nodding, Gilbert held his hand out to her, making her jump. The older man had a small smile plastered across his face. "Kesesesese~ My name is the Awesome Gilbert. But you, Grace, can call me Gilbert."

Grace stared intently at the Prussian's hand, then at his piercingly red eyes, as if she were searching for something. It appeared she found it as she shook his out stretched hand, a husk of a smile eventually reaching her lips as well.

Grace had opened her mouth to speak again, but her growling stomach cut her off, making her blush in embarrassment. "Are you hungry?" Gilbert said, patting his own gut. The small girl nodded slowly, looking away.

Glancing at the remains of his mini-pie, Gilbert fought a mental battle. _The girl said she's hungry…But it's my own pie!...But she looks so…lonely…_

Grace was snapped back to reality when she heard the tall man next to her get up and walk away. When he was out of sight, a single tear escaped her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her legs again, feeling like trash once again. _What have I done to deserve this?_

She was so caught up in her despair, she almost didn't notice Gilbert walking back toward her, the pie extended out to her. Gently nudging her shoulder, Gilbert sat a medium-sized slice of pie in her lap. She looked back at him incredulously, silently asking him why he would do this for her.

Gilbert crossed his arms and looked away, a faint pink dusting his cheeks. "Eat up. I-I know it's not much but-" The soldier looked down to see Grace digging into that pie like crazy- she had worse manners than him!

Her cheeks full of apples and frosting, Grace looked up at him graciously (Get it? *shot*). "Merci, Monsieur Gilbert!" Gilbert didn't know a lot of French, but that little bit he did know.

"No problem, frau. Anyway, where are your parents?" Grace's jovial face was soon replaced with a deep frown. With a face full of sadness, she shrugged. "Je n'ai aucune idée où ils sont." Gilbert somewhat understood, now wondering what he was going to do with her.

Finally, he made up his mind. Gilbert scooped up the little girl, catching her off guard. She clung onto the collar of his jacket to keep herself steady, afraid he might drop her.

Gilbert scanned the area for the third time that day and asked the question that had been on his mind for the past three hours:

"Grace, where am I?"

He motioned to the hills and villas around him. Groggily, the little girl picked up her head. She was only a few seconds out from falling asleep on his shoulder. "Paris, France." That was the last thing she whispered before falling asleep on the soldier's shoulder.

Gilbert's lips curled into a miniscule smirk before he placed Grace over his shoulder. He set off to find the largest house he could see. _Looks like I get to pay someone a visit…_

* * *

**Yes, I have finally made a story for Prussia~! Here are the translations:**

**1. M-Mon nom...est Grace.- M-My name...is Grace.**

**2. Merci, Monsieur Gilbert! - Thank you, Mister Gilbert!**

**3. Je n'ai aucune idée où ils sont - I have no idea where they are.**

**So, who do you think Gil's gonna visit? Tell me! Please R&R~**


	2. Chapter 2

~Grace's POV~

_"Can't you see, Grace? We don't want you anymore. In fact, we never wanted you in the first place, it was just funny to see you fail so often." With that horrible smirk on her face, she dragged me into the rain. _

_ No matter how hard I struggled, she wouldn't let me back inside the warm sanctuary behind her. She had managed to wrestle me deep into the forest, her hand clamped firmly over my mouth, muffling all of my cries._

_ I had no more energy left to fight with her. I collapsed on the blotchy earth beneath me, trying desperately to get some air back into my lungs. My eyes fogged with tears, I looked up to see her retreating back to the house._

_ Before she was completely gone, she whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear her: "Stay away from our family, reject."_

_ Then…I was alone._

_*****Prussian Time Skip of Awesomeness *****_

"No!" I woke up with a jolt, recovering from one of the worst nightmares I've ever had. I reached up to touch my face to feel a few stray tears running down my cheeks. Embarrassedly, I swiped them away. Mother had always told me that big girls should never cry, and then was no exception.

Despite my efforts, a few more tears I didn't even know I was holding back tumbled down, slightly cracking my resolve. Sniffling, I closed my eyes. _I just need to focus on what's going on around me. Everything will be alright... _

One problem with that: I don't know where I am, or what I was doing. The last thing I remember happening was eating leftover pie that someone gave me…Gilbert, was it? All I know is that I'm very warm, my stomach isn't growling, and I'm moving…

Wait. I'm moving!?

I opened my eyes to see tufts of silver hair, seemingly bobbing up and down as the man walked. At first I was slightly alarmed to see I was in arms of the tall German. What kid wouldn't be? He was extremely scary looking, not to mention loud… _But he was very kind and fed me,_ I thought. _Two things that they didn't do._

~Gilbert's POV~

_Stopfen, Francis's house is farther away than it looks. Not far away enough to deter the awesome me, though~_

I trudged down the cobble road, Grace limply tossed over my arm. I'm pretty sure the two of us were quite a sight, seeing how everyone we passed would stare at us through questioning eyes and whisper to their neighbor in their native tongue.

_Nosy French people…_ I was only a few yards from the elegant villa that appeared to be Francis' when I felt Grace stir a little in her sleep. She was muttering something in French, but I knew that whatever she was dreaming of wasn't awesome at all, seeing how she clutched desperately at my shirt and the tears soaking through my already dirty uniform.

Gently, I stroked her back, as to not startle her. "Shhh… It vill be alright…" Soon, her breathing slowed down again and she fell back to sleep again. Perfect timing for it, too.

"Holy Roman Empire…" I looked up to see a large, mahogany door, with intricate patterns decorating the perimeter. When I squinted, I saw the words 'Francis Bonnefoy' carved carefully into the wood, his name intertwined with roses. To put things frankly, his house was freaking awesome~ (Not as awesome as me, however).

Mentally preparing myself for any questions the Frenchmen would surely have, I pressed the doorbell. _This…is when craps goes down…_

~Normal POV~

"Coming~" Gilbert heard several hurried thuds and thumps as he stood outside the door, unconsciously stroking Grace's back while she slept.

He was almost startled when the Frenchmen threw open the door to reveal himself draped in the finest of silks, displaying his signature half-flirtatious-smirk, half-smile (I'm not the only one who noticed that, am I? *shot*).

Francis's blue eyes showed his surprise, happy to see his Prussian comrade after such a long time. A few years ago, Francis retired from the army with enough money to buy seven more of the exact same house. Gilbert chuckled to himself at that. _Looks like someone's living in the lap of luxury…_

"Gil!" Francis exclaimed, extending his arms out for a hug, which the soldier gladly complied to. "Oh, how I've missed you, mon chere! We have so much to catch up-"

As Francis wrapped his arms around what he assumed to be Gilbert, he felt a pair of very small, still legs.

"OH MY GOSH WHAT IS THAT!?" The Frenchman recoiled in disgust, not daring to look to see what- or _who_- he just touched. Gilbert put up a silencing finger, feeling Grace shift slightly in her sleep.

"Don't yell so loudly, Francis," he whispered. "She must still be a little tired from the trip…"

Francis looked over the tall Prussian's shoulder to see nothing but a child, peacefully resting the day away. The scene before him starting to disturb him, Francis beckoned the pair inside, making sure to lock the door behind him.

* * *

The suspense...XD Welp, sorry for such a short chapter (lazy writer is lazy...*shot*) To make up for it, I brought you 2/3 of the BTT. Enjoy it~


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